The influence of Astragalus membranaceus straw on in vitro rumen fermentation and methane emission in sheep

Methane, as a major greenhouse gas, contributes second only to carbon dioxide to global warming. Ruminants emit approximately 800 million tons of methane each year. Active substances from traditional Chinese medicine sources are one of the main measures to reduce methane emissions from ruminants, but there are relatively few studies on using Chinese grass stalks to reduce methane emissions from ruminants. Therefore, this study took Astragalus membranaceus as the research object and adopted the in vitro fermentation method to investigate the effects of different addition levels of Astragalus membranaceus straw in the basic diet on in vitro fermentation of the rumen, methane emissions and rumen microbial flora of sheep, providing data support for the feed utilization of Astragalus membranaceus straw and green and low-carbon livestock breeding.